Organizations

When the national children's advocacy organization KIDS COUNT announced its rankings of the 50 states in the early 1990s, Georgia ranked near the bottom in a range of indicators of child and family well-being, from teen pregnancy and high school graduation rates to the number of children living in poverty.

Measured against today's membership, the first meeting of the League of Women Voters of Georgia was a small one. The year was 1920 and 22 women's suffrage activists from around the state gathered in the Atlanta home of Emily C. McDougald to found an organization that would encourage women to take advantage of their newly-gained right to vote, which became law that same year.

When a group of intown gallery owners first dreamed up the idea for the Atlanta Gallery Association 15 years ago, the city was considered - even by many local collectors - as second-tier, with far fewer artists and works of the caliber found in places like New York and San Francisco.

With all the assets North Georgia and Metro Atlanta possess - a healthy economy, a mild climate and ample space for development unencumbered by mountains, rivers or oceans - Stacy Patton says she's well aware that the flood of new residents into the state over the past several years is only going to continue.

The first thing that's important to know about Bike Athens, says the group's co-chair Mark Dodson, is that its name is actually something of a misnomer. "We're really about more than just bikes," he says. "Our mission is really about promoting all different types of alternative transportation."